Worth Discovering: Diamine Inks

Most people think ink is blue.

Then they discover Diamine.

Spend a little time exploring the world of fountain pen inks and you'll quickly realise that ink can be the colour of a forest, a stormy sky, a favourite coffee or a well-worn book. Before long, you're not choosing an ink so much as choosing a mood, a season or a feeling.

And that's exactly why we think Diamine is worth discovering.

I've always loved stationery, but as a left-hander I never really got into fountain pens until about five years ago. Diamine were one of the brands that opened that world up for me, and I've been using their inks ever since.

The colours are rich, the range is enormous and there always seems to be one more ink to try.

Classic colours sit alongside shimmering inks, chameleon inks, scented inks and special editions. There are small bottles for exploring and larger bottles for the colours you never want to run out of. It's a range that makes it very hard to stop at just one bottle.

One of my favourite things in the shop is helping someone find a colour they never expected to love.

They arrive convinced they're looking for blue-black and leave wondering whether perhaps they need a deep green, a warm brown or something with a shimmer after all.

Because the colour you fall in love with is rarely the one you expected.

Diamine have been making ink in the UK since 1864, and that long history is part of their appeal. They are one of Britain's best-known ink makers, continuing to produce an extraordinary range of inks while remaining true to the craftsmanship that made them popular in the first place.

This month we're especially excited because the inks from Diamine's 2025 Inkvent Calendar are being released as individual 50ml bottles for the first time.

If you've never encountered Inkvent before, imagine opening a new bottle of ink every day in December. It's become something of an annual event in the fountain pen world, with each collection introducing colours that people spend months talking about afterwards.

I'm already looking forward to seeing this year's Inkvent Calendar arrive in the autumn.

Among the 2025 collection, I'm especially looking forward to Overcast, Nostalgia and Dreamcatcher. They feel less like colours and more like moods. I've always been drawn to inks that sound more like stories than colours, and these certainly do that.

Then there's Bubbly, a rich gold that looks utterly glorious in a fountain pen.

The best way to choose an ink, though, is to see it on paper.

Come and try a few colours. Compare them side by side. See how they look on different papers. Discover the one you keep coming back to.

Because sometimes your new favourite ink is the one you never expected to choose.

Why we think it's worth discovering

• An extraordinary range of colours to explore

• British-made craftsmanship with over 160 years of heritage

• The simple joy of finding an ink that feels uniquely yours